Dolphins improve to 2-0 behind Jason Allen and the Defense!

You may be feeling a little fuzzy after imbibing all of that alcohol during the game, but I promise you…you read the headline correct.

This was the Jason Allen show.  Cameron Wake gets honorable mention as well, but we don’t win this game without Jason Allen.

How did it happen?

The first half of the game belonged entirely to the Miami Dolphins.  The Vikings took the first possession and drove into field goal range and were facing a 4th and four.  Instead of taking the points, the Vikings decided they would try to instill their will, and went for it on fourth down.  They failed.

Miami’s first play of the game, a 46 yard bomb to Brandon Marshall.  How many of us have been waiting for that?  A couple wildcat plays later, leads to a TD strike from Henne to Hartline.  Miami held the Vikings in check for the entire first half, and even ran the ball well.  Everything was clicking.  Miami had a 7-0 lead going into halftime.

Miami’s second TD came on a defensive touchdown in the 3rd quarter. With Brett Favre on the one yard line, Cameron Wake came off the edge to strip the ball, and Koa Misi falls on it, to give Miami a 14-0 lead which they held going into halftime.

Miami had plenty of chances to make this a blow out statement game.

Cue…Jason Allen Theme Music
On the first Vikings play after the strip six, Brett Favre was intercepted by Jason Allen….the play was negated by an offside penalty on former Viking, Benny Sapp.  Six plays later, Allen recorded his next interception on the two yard line, except this one counted….

Ricky Williams fumbled the very next snap, giving the ball back to Minnesota on the 2 yard line, and they eventually scored two plays later

In the fourth quarter, with the score 14-10, Minnesota seemingly have no problems running the ball down our throats, and Shiancoe getting open consistently, Jason Allen again stepped in front of a Brett Favre pass for his second official interception (should have been third), yet this time on the very next play, Ronnie Brown fumbles the ball right back to Minnesota with 5:46 left to play.

Minnsota drove down the field to the Miami one yard line, and threatened to punch it in to take the lead.  Karlos Dansby was having none of it, and even though Peterson cut our defense up for 145 yards…it was the 146th yard that we kept from him.  Miami gets the turnover on downs, and tries to run out the clock…..unfortunately they do not.

Brett Favre gets the ball back on their own 45, with 1:42 left to play, and Miami fans are nervous.  Did we just give this game away?  No.  The Defense again holds the Vikings, and after another turnover on downs (Sean Smith in coverage as a Nickel Back), the Dolphins kneel the ball down, and walk away with a 2-0 record, the first time since 1988!!!

In other news:

• The New York Jets dismantled the New England Patriots.  The question is which team will we face in week 3?  The hapless team that played the Ravens, or the dominant team that played the Patriots?  In either case, our offense better start picking it up some.
• Brian Hartline critics were silenced a little, finishing with 3 catches for 28 yards and a TD, and ZERO Drops.
• Put this in the “WHY?” column.  Marshall was only targeted twice during the first half.  He finished with 4 catches for 71 yards.
• Henne finished the game only 9 for 15, 114 yards, and the TD to Hartline.  It was expected we’d air it out this week, so this was kind of shocking.
• Davone Bess finished with just 1 reception, for 12 yards.
• For those worried about Ronnie’s injury, he broke a 51 yard run and looked every bit healed as you could wish for.  He has no lingering effects.
• Shiancoe ended the game with 6 catches for 86 yards… another Tight End eating us up.

Week 2 Preview: Dolphins @ Vikings, what to watch for

Sunday the Miami Dolphins travel to the dome in Minneapolis to take on Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings.

Talk about a battle of opposites.  These teams are different in almost every aspect, and that is what will make this game so exciting to watch.  It will also make this one helluva tough game.

Henne vs. Favre

One is a First Ballot Hall of Famer, and the other is a first year full time starter.  Favre has made his career living on the edge of out of control.  His mentality is to throw first, answer questions later.   Henne, on the other hand, has been taught to be efficient.  Find the open guy, but if its not there, check it down to the safety valve.  Take your shots, but only when its warranted.  Control the game, slow and steady.

You could compare these 2 as the tortoise and the hare…. and not be that far off.

Favre is coming off ankle surgery, and hasn’t had the benefit of Training Camp.  Henne had his first full offseason, and is continuing to grow.

If the Dolphins are going to win this game, Cameron Wake and Koa Misi will need to keep Favre on the ground, hit him often, and make him feel uncomfortable.  I think everyone in the league knows that is how you beat Favre……including the Vikings.

Offensive Lines

Minnesota has  a very stout Offensive line.  Names like Steve Hutchinson, and Bryant McKinnie on the left side remind you of how solid this line is.  McKinnie was limited in practice recovering from a dislocated finger, but he is expected to play.

The Dolphins have a line that is still very much in flux.  Despite our stellar rushing attack last year, our line hasn’t gelled as quickly or as nicely as a lot of us expected.  The Dolphins line is coming along, make no mistake about it… but as was evidenced by the center quarterback exchange issues last week at Buffalo, they aren’t there yet.

Running Backs

Some of the best in the game, albeit, in 2 different forms.  Minnesota has Adrian Peterson.  There is nothing I can tell you about Adrian Peterson that you don’t already know.  If you follow the NFL at all, you know AP is one of the top running backs in the game.  He does have fumble issues, but he’ll pick up a defender and pile drive him before he runs around him.  He’s electric when he has the ball, and I guarantee you we focused all week on stopping him.

Ricky and Ronnie are our own hydra running backs.  They feed off of each other, and spell each other based on how the game is going, how they feel… etc.  Last year they were the 4th best rushing attack in the NFL, so you know its working.  Whether is smash mouth football, the Wildcat, or even dump offs…Miami has 2 guys that can do big things.

Wide Receivers

Minnesota isn’t as deadly this week as they were last year.  The main reason is that Sidney Rice is out for half the season while recovering from offseason surgery.  Percy Harvin hasn’t practiced (as of Thursday) due to a new hip ailment….but we don’t really know how severe, or what, it is.  Bernard Berrian has been mostly ineffective, so he’ll have to step up, and of course their newest WR, Greg Camarillo, is someone every dolphin fan already knows everything about…he’s not flashy, but he has great hands, and is great on 3rd down.

Miami on the other hand, has one of the top 3 WR’s in the league…Brandon Marshall.  He had 8 catches last week in Buffalo, and expect him to have around that again this week.  Brian Hartline is going to have to come into this game realizing that he has to shine…he was zero’d out last week in everything but drops, which is not a good thing, so expect him to find his groove and prove the nay sayers wrong this week.  Davone Bess, is always consistent, he’ll work the middle of the field, and we may see him lined up outside a few times, with Hartline in the slot just to change it up.

Defense

Here is where the drastic difference is.  The Vikings defense is one of the top rushing defenses in the league.  Everyone knows the Williams Wall, but there entire unit is very stout.  Miami is going to test the DBs, and Henne is going to have to sling the ball around a lot if they want to move the chains this week.

Miami on the other hand, is …..well….. fluid.  We don’t know what Miami’s Defense is.  We know that right now they are the #1 Defense in the league, but the truth is, we don’t know what all is contained in this group.  Our pass rushers are both entering their 2nd game, our free safety is entering his 2nd game as a starter… the Defensive Line is mostly new…. and the Coordinator is new…  Its like a ferrari that you’ve driven around the block but not on the highway…. I want to see what its got under the hood…and this is the week we’ll get a good glimpse of it.

Was last week a fluke against an anemic offense, or is this defense for real?  We’ll find out on Sunday.

My Prediction:

I’ve had this one on the calendar as a Loss for Miami since the schedule came out.  However, I think its going to be a lot closer than I think.  I still give the edge to Minnesota, but with everything I saw in Week 1, I would not be surprised to see us punch them in the mouth.  Starting out 2-0 would do phenomenal things to this locker room…..

Are we searching for an Identity?

Who are we?

Now I’m not trying to make this into the age-old philosophical question.  I’m not trying to make you read Sun Tzu, Nietzsche, Plato, or get into any kind of argument that ends in a -ism.

I’ve been sitting here all week trying to figure out exactly what kind of team are we?   And yes, I’m fully aware we are  Football team.

Here’s my Quandry:

Last year, without question, without hesitation, without even thinking about it, we were a running team.  There was never a hesitation in my mind, that we were indeed, a running team.  We were also one of the best in the league at it.  We lined up, week after week and we ran it down your throats.  We dared you to stop us.

But I don’t get that feeling this year.

I mean I should.  I considered us a running team all offseason, thru the draft, and even going into training camp.  But something changed, something is different now.  Watching the Buffalo game, I didn’t get that overwhelming feeling that I normally do.  Something was off.

Are we a Passing Team?

Was it Brandon Marshall?  I was one of the most vocal advocates to go out and get Marshall (not that anyone was listening mind you).  But does Marshall’s presence, along with Bess, Hartline and Henne’s continued improvement make us a passing team?  I don’t think so.  I don’t get that vibe yet.  I would welcome it, obviously, but I don’t get that feeling at all, even if we did throw Marshall’s way 13 times.

Are we back to being a Defensive Team?

I have to be honest, I almost feel this way.  But surely we can’t be a defensive team overnight right?  I mean…. Everyone remembers last year.  Our failure on defense is very fresh in my mind, and I’m sure it is on yours as well.  We were in every single game last year offensively.  I think we finished with the 12th best scoring offense, and were only like 3 points per game away from being in the top 8.   So how do you explain this paradigm shift in how I feel?

Well you can’t, and its way to early to tell.

Maybe we are a passing team, but we didn’t push Buffalo’s 2nd ranked Secondary.

Maybe we are  still a Running Team, and it just kinda fizzled… and we’ll get back to ground and pound after these commercial messages.

Or…Maybe, just Maybe….we’re a balanced offensive team, masquerading as a top defensive team……

I don’t know.  We’ll get a better feel for our “identity” after this week.

Why can’t finicky Miami Fans can’t enjoy a win?

Apparently a lot of people haven’t heard, but the Miami Dolphins are now undefeated in the 2010 season.  They also earned a division road game win, in very windy conditions on Sunday.

I bring this up, because if you look around, everywhere you go, all you hear about is moaning and complaining by Dolphin fans.

“The play calling was too conservative”

“Brian Hartline needs to be replaced”

“Ricky Williams looks old”

“Henne is way too inaccurate”

Can we stop please?

Personally, I blame the Madden Generation.   I think a lot of people are so used to looking at Madden Ratings and thinking a player is going to somehow be a stud on every single play.  Here is a news flash for you…and feel free to quote me on this.

Not every player at every position is going to be a Hall of Famer, nor are they going to play like Hall of Famers on every play.  Even the Hall of Famers are going to screw up, drop passes, miss a block, get sacked, lose yardage, fumble, throw an INT…. ALL OF THEM.

Its part of Football.  Lets talk about some of these rants that the Chicken Littles come up with shall we?

“The play calling is too conservative”

How do you criticize the play calling when we won the game?  I seriously doubt any of you question the plays that worked… but you only question the plays that didn’t.  Buffalo’s secondary was second to only the Jets last season.  Yes, they are that good.  We didn’t throw a single interception, and we won the game.  Take into account the heavy wind (did no one see the players towels blowing all over the place?) and it easy to understand why we played much shorter higher percentage pass plays.  Not to mention, our offense had a 2 score lead.  We’re not the Patriots or the Saints so we don’t run up the score when we have a lead.  We sit on a 2 score lead and eat up the clock.  That is  what we do.

“Brian Hartline is not a true #2, we should replace him”

Considering the common understanding is that it takes 3 years for a Wide Receiver to actually “get it” in this league, we should be extremely happy with the play that we’ve seen from Hartline.  Not only were his 2009 numbers pretty damn good for a rookie who didn’t start for the large majority of the season, but he’s shown some flashes of physicality as well.  We gave Ted Ginn three years, we’ll give Hartline his.

Worried about his drops?  Don’t be.  Marshall had 11 drops in 2009, anyone bitching and moaning about them?  Nope.

Stop reading the box scores when it comes to evaluating these guys.  Fact is, during the Buffalo game, Hartline was targeted 4 times, twice was he under thrown, one he caught for a 9 yard gain (negated by penalty on Fasano), and the last one he dropped.  What you don’t see in the box score, is the many times he had his man beat, one would’ve been for a LONG touchdown, but Henne either didn’t see him, or was under pressure and scrambled the other direction.

Stop with the Hartline hating…. I understand Ginn’s gone, and everyone needs a new target… but just stop.

“Ricky Williams looks old….”

News Flash:  Ricky Williams IS old for a Running Back.  He’s still very talent, and still producing at a high level.  Get over it.  He also has fumble-itis, and has throughout his career….so lets just get that out there before he fumbles a ball and you all freak out.  Ricky is a bigger back who punishes teams in the fourth quarter.

“Henne takes too many check downs
Henne is too inaccurate
Henne needs to learn how to throw a touch pass”

Anyone that watched the Buffalo game, watched Henne actually go thru all of his reads.  The offensive line gave him all the time in the world, and it was clearly visible to see him go thru his progressions.  Henne has been taught to get the ball out quick, and he does just that.  Remember the article about how the Dolphins had a 4 second buzzer in training camp to help him get the ball out faster?  Guess what, it works.  He gets the ball out fast… he goes thru his progressions, and if nothing is perceived to be open, he goes to his check down outlet.

Now… sometimes, the Offensive line actually gives him more time than that 4 seconds, and he might be able to take some more time to find an open man, but that’s not how this offense operates.  If it’s not there, we play the safe route, and gain a few yards.  Forcing the ball, causes turnovers.  And there isn’t a single person reading this that will EVER say, “Man Henne threw an INT on that play, but I’m glad he was aggressive”

You know what you’ll think?  You’ll think…”Damn it Henne! Everyone was covered, you should have checked down, Ronnie or Ricky were wide open!”  Again, you can’t have it both ways.

btw, he completed 61% of his throws against a team that had the second best secondary in the league last year…. and most were short “touch” completions…. Relax folks.  Its his first real year as a starter.  Take a deep breath.

Facts:

1. We won the game
2. We won a Road Game
3. We won a Road Game against a Division Rival
4. We won a Road Game against a Division Rival in windy conditions
5. Its been 6 years since we won a game IN Buffalo
6. Going into Monday’s night games, our Defense is ranked #1 in the NFL after Sunday.

So can we stop with the whining please?

The Dolphins are 1-0.  Chad Henne is NOT going to be replaced by Chad Pennington anytime soon (who btw was 0-2 in both years he started for Miami).

Neither the Offense NOR the Defense are in mid-season form…..and they shouldn’t be, cuz…its only week one.  They will continue to improve, and hopefully, so will our record.

Week 1 Recap: Dolphins Defeat Bills 15-10

Hear that?

It’s a collective sigh of relief from all the Dolphins fans who were previously suffering from Chicken Little Syndrome.  The sky is NOT falling, the team has not exploded, and…I can’t believe I’m going to say this…. Jason Allen played very well.

This game was a story of two completely different halves.  The first half of the game, the Dolphins dominated.  We ran the ball well, we passed the ball well, our defense pushed Buffalo around, we could do no wrong it seemed.  Our line was making some nice running lanes, Brandon Marshall was ON FIRE, and Henne looked very very solid.

The second half started with the arrival of the Buffalo Bills defense.  They finally showed up in the game, and made their presence known.  The third quarter was nothing more than a few short drives, followed by punts by both teams.  No one seemed to be able to move the ball, and the offensive spark that we had in the first half seemed to be dimming a little.

The fourth quarter was a battle, both defenses still were slugging it out, and although Miami was able to move the ball, they couldn’t find a way to finish and put up the points.  On a pretty good drive, Miami had to settle for a FG by DC$ (Dan Carpenter), to give themselves a 13-3 lead.  Buffalo took the ball back, and ran a no huddle offense which stumped the Miami Defense.  On a fourth and 11 play from the 31 yard line, Trent Edwards finds Roscoe Parrish wide open for a TD.  Tyrone Culver blew coverage on the play, by stepping forward into the coverage while Parrish just ran by him at the speed of light.  That brought Buffalo to within 3 points.

Miami once again takes the kickoff, and they are in clock kill mode at this point.  Both Ronnie and Ricky managed to grind down the clock down to within 2 minutes, however, an ill-timed penalty results in a punt with under 2 minutes to play.  Miami downs the punt just inches from the end zone, and proceeded to hold Buffalo for 3 downs.  On fourth and 10, Buffalo intentionally snaps the ball out-of-bounds for a safety, giving Miami a 15-10 lead with 1:32 left in the game.  Miami runs the ball for 3 consecutive plays, failing to get the game clinching first down, and Buffalo got the ball back with 29 seconds left.  Three straight incompletions later, and a 4th down short of the first down marker, the game is over.

Miami starts the 2010 season with a WIN!!!

Fr8 Train’s Observations:

• Brian Hartline was absolutely invisible today.  Not a single catch, although on at least one play, he had beaten his man for what would have been a long TD, but Henne failed to see him as he was scrambling away from pressure.
• Ricky had 5 more carries than Ronnie, and the yardage was about the same.  Ronnie did manage our only TD on a 1 yard run.
• Buffalo knows how to stop the Wildcat…at least in this game they did.
• Why wasn’t Tyler Thigpen our #2 QB so he could run the Wildcat?  I guess we won’t see the TylerCat anytime soon.
• Thank you for Mike Nolan.  Defense recorded 3 sacks (Dansby, Misi, Wake), and the defense pressured him for 60 minutes.  You have to be excited about the defense, knowing that it’ll only get better as the season goes on.
• With the exception of the final punt that was downed on the 2 inch line, Brandon Fields had a HORRIBLE day kicking the ball.
• Brandon Marshall was basically shut out for the entire second half.  Buffalo has a great secondary, so that’s not a surprise, however, after having 6 catches in the first half, you wouldn’t expected more.
• Henne was sacked 3 times, but faced a fair amount of pressure right up the middle.  Hopefully that gets squared away.
• JASON ALLEN looked very good!  It was against a horrible Buffalo offense, but Jason Allen really REALLY showed up to play this week, which means Sean Smith is going to sit on the bench again next week.
• Both Jason Allen, and Benny Sapp just missed pick 6′s.  Sapp just miss played a pass that was his for the taking, and Jason Allen just flat-out dropped a pass inside the 10 yard line in the final minutes of play that he could have crawled into the end zone with.

Week 1: Dolphins Bills – First Half Review

WELCOME TO THE SEASON!

Well the first half has concluded up in Buffalo, and I have to say, the Miami Dolphin‘s defense is exactly has we hoped it would be. They are all over the field, playing aggressively. In the first half, Wake and Dansby both recorded a sack, and there were plenty of passes knocked down, as well as quarterback hurries.

Ronnie Brown is looking well, he’s racked up 34 yards rushing with a one yard TD run, and added a reception for 16 yards.. The real spotlight however goes to Brandon Marshall. In just one half of play, Marshall already has 6 receptions for 44 yards. Chad Henne also under threw Marshall on a Wide Open long passing play, that was good for another 20-30 yards easy.

The offensive line is getting good push, and other than a few miscues, they look great. The only real problem has been during the snap where Henne has fallen down twice when a lineman has stepped on his foot while dropping back.

Bill Parcells can relax, as Henne was 13 of 18 for 128 yards, and looked sharp and made good decisions.

Dan Carpenter kicked a 32 yard FG, but then missed a 46 yarder with under 2 minutes to play.

More to come as the game unfolds!

Dolphins aren’t the same team they were last week.

I swear a hurricane must have just devastated South Florida in the last week.

Looking at the team as it stands today, it’s not the same team as yesterday.  There have been a TON of moves on the roster, and one has to question if the team is any better today than yesterday?

I say it’s not, and I don’t think I’m alone.

What the hell happened?

Where do I even begin?  How about a list of roster moves, cuts, and signings?

• TE David Martin CUT…..then signed by the Bills
• WR Patrick Turner CUT….Then briefly signed by the Jets
• Will Allen…. put on IR when he could’ve been back by Week 3
• LB Charlie Anderson RELEASED….
• Jake Long nursing an knee…Lyndon Murtha & Vernon Carey are fallbacks
• Sean Smith demoted, Perennial disappointment Jason Allen given the Start.
• Vontae Davis sat out the final PS game, and has been seen limping.  Although he’s practicing again, it’s an eyebrow raiser.
• Jake Grove…..RELEASED….Berger given Starting Job
• Charles Grant, Marques Douglas….RELEASED
• Bill Parcells ceding full control to Jeff Ireland

And that list doesn’t include the Practice Squad moves, or players signed and cut.. those are the bigger ones.  So…Again.  WOW.

The David Martin one has me baffled.  It left us with 2 TE’s on the roster, and Nalbone as the 2nd TE.  Nalbone has been unimpressive, and its been said that the staff kept him for his solid blocking ability, but I’ll be honest, I haven’t seen it.  I’m not impressed by Nalbone at all.  There was speculation that perhaps we were in the market for Greg Olsen from Chicago, but that also now seems doubtful.  So, I don’t know what gives.  It’s probably safe to say that Martin didn’t return to his ’08 form, but still, his upside has to be higher than Nalbone’s.

JASON ALLEN IS STARTING? I can’t tell you how much a headache I have just typing that.  I understand Sean Smith has had some errors, but Smith started all 16 games last year, as a rookie mind you.  He played well, not great, and he’s still got going thru his growing pains, but he’s a MUCH MUCH better option than Allen.  Allen repeatedly gets burned when playing CB, and its a fairly common consensus that the reason he’s been kept on the team for so long was his solid Special Teams play.  I don’t understand this move, unless its something to shock Smith into action.  I keep thinking back to the preseason game where we were supposedly “showcasing Allen”, and we all watched him get burned time and time again.

Does Depth Mean Nothing?

Douglas, Grant, Anderson, Grove….  They all were decent or better backups at their respective positions.  And now they are on the street, and we signed some other no-name players who we haven’t really seen produce yet.  I’m sooo confused at the team’s direction right now.

The Sky is NOT Falling however

Don’t take my rant as a Chicken Little Syndrome, as I certainly am not going to freak out over the movement of 2nd and 3rd string guys.   However, to not be concerned about the Allen over Smith, and outright releases of Anderson & Grove would be naive.  I’m not naive, and neither are the fans.  I still think we have every bit the chance to win the AFC East, but I’ll be absolutely honest when I say, I really hope Smith moves back to the starting position by Week 2 (unless Allen blows up against Buffalo), and I would hate to see a lot of our depth on the field for any length of time.

I am super excited the REAL season is upon us…. and can’t wait for the Buffalo Game.  Check back on Friday for the Keys to Victory!

Well that was Ugly. Dolphins Starters lose to ‘Boys Backups

I’m not sure how I feel about this.

On one side, I’m really glad the preseason is over.  The games don’t mean anything, and the casual fan can’t get past the fact that you don’t even see a glimpse of any part of the offense or defense.   Miami fans are finicky that way.

Maybe all fans are.

Except for the Colts fans, Colts fans have figured it out many years ago.  You see, Indy losses on average 3 preseason games every year…. yet they always win 12+ games per season since 2004….

Anyone calling for Manning’s head there?  No.

Anyone concerned about the Secondary there?  No.

Anyone concerned about the Receiver’s drops in preseason?  Again, No.

So why do we worry about these things in Miami.  Well, for starters the obvious.  We don’t have Peyton Manning as a quarterback, and we haven’t won 12 games in a long time.   It’s a scientific and biological fact, that people tend to remember the bad memories first, before they remember the good.  Perhaps that explains why everyone is so worried about Chad Henne, Brandon Marshall, and the rest of the Fin Roster.

But, let’s get back to the game.  It was the fourth and last preseason game, so I’m not going to get all too in-depth here, as the game is meaningless.  Lets just say that we didn’t exactly look like a Super Bowl team.  Our starting offensive line was pushed around by the Cowboy’s backups, our receivers didn’t play all too well, and Henne wasn’t as sharp as we want….oh yeah, and the defense gave up 300+ yards passing to a 3rd string QB.

But am I concerned?  No.

Should I be concerned?  Maybe a little, but No.

You see, the Colts players understand it.  Even Brandon Marshall himself stated the common opinion among players, when he said after last nights game:

“It counts now. This is what matters. These last four games, I don’t give a damn about.” – Brandon Marshall

The last four games don’t matter.  We haven’t seen our real offense, we haven’t seen our real defense, players play the game with a sense of apathy, and most likely aren’t all that focused….because the games are meaningless.  Its a glorified practice, nothing more, and nothing less.  The only reason fans get so upset about it, it’s a “game”.  They should label them as Preseason Practice Games or something, because that’s all it is.

So relax.  Take a deep breath.  Get off the ledge.  Stop this nonsense about Pennington or Thigpen starting (yes I know some of you reading this are not-so-secretly thinking it).

Next week the games count.  Next week we’ll all feel a lot better about things.  Trust me.  So with that rant over……lets

Things to Watch

• Cuts will be coming fast.   Teams have to be down to 53 on Saturday…. I’ll detail those in a follow up post, maybe Saturday night after my fantasy draft (more on that later as well).
• Marlon Moore welcome to the Miami Dolphins.
• Patrick Turner, don’t hold your breath…. I think Wallace may have taken your place.  He flashes.
• Grove or Berger?  I’ll be honest, I have no f’ing clue.  We’ll all probably find out at kickoff on Sunday.
• Watch which WRs Dallas cuts…. and then watch for an acquisition.  If its Hurd or Crayton, I can see us grabbing them over Turner or Wallace…. maybe.

Everything from this point on matters folks.

Final Preseason Warmup! Dolphins vs. Cowboys, Thurs. 8pm

Yes, I know.

It’s a shameless way to put up a picture of Dolphin Cheerleaders, but damn it,  I couldn’t help myself.   The season is just a couple of weeks away from kicking off, and Thursday is our last preseason game before they actually count.  I’m excited!

So let’s get busy.

Quick review of the past week

A few roster moves dominated the headlines.  Nate Garner was placed on IR, and Joey Haynos was waived (expected to be placed on IR once he clears waivers).  Garner is a loss, as he was the versatile backup we had on the line, and Haynos just wasn’t coming around like everyone had hoped, so the injury probably made him a little money, instead of him just being outright released.

Hey Fr8, what about the game?

Oh yeah, our last preseason game of the 2010 season kicks off Thursday night at 8pm against the Dallas Cowboys.  Now, normally you don’t expect a lot of quality play in the 4th preseason game, as that happens in the third preseason game.   But….wait, can you smell that?

Yeah, that’s the stink of the 3rd preseason game still marinating on my mind.  There is no way to put it, other than we stunk it up.  Anyone that watched the game, and even Coach Sparano as vocalized how bad we played in that game.  So, to remedy/punish the players, Sparano as decided to play the starters in game 4….. which is not normal.

“I have no idea how much the starters will play. That’s not up to me – that’s up to them. We’re going to go out there and play until either I’m satisfied with what I’ve seen, or I feel like we’ve gotten the amount of work that I have scheduled for them right now in my head.” – Coach Sparano

I like to see this kind of passion.  He’s not happy with the play, so don’t reward the players with the game off….get in there and make sure its right before the real games come.

What about Dallas?

Well, Dallas has announced they won’t be playing any of their starters…..so our guys had better damn will shine, and shine so bright I can see them all the way up here in Columbus.  That’s the only way they are going to get off the field early in the game on Thursday.  Now, if the first string goes out and just rolls over the Dallas easily and scores a TD on the first drive like it was no problem….maybe they get out after a series, but I’m inclined to believe they play almost the full first quarter.

Things to watch for:

1. The offensive line is possibly, hopefully, finally set?  We still aren’t sure about the center position (Berger or Grove), but whoever looks the best on Thursday is likely the guy come Week 1, so they better all dominate.
2. I’m giving our Secondary a pass for the preseason, as there has been no blitz, no schemes, and I assume that Nolan has just been throwing out packages to see how the players look.  Even though it looks like Smith/Vontae have been beat a few times, it could just be the scheme, and someone else missed their man, even if the player was closest to one of them…..so lets just wait until Game 1, until we lay into them.
3. Turner, Wallace, and Moore.  2 of them will likely stay, one of them is gone.  My money is on Wallace getting stashed (hopefully) on the practice squad, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see the coaches go with the speed over Turner… but most likely its Turner and Moore that make the 53.
4. Nate Ness – this is your last chance……show up big, or go home.  That is all
5. Benny Sapp…he’s still acclimatizing himself to the team, so hopefully he gets a lot of playing time, and shows some promise, as Camarillo is looking real good in a Vikings uniform right now…. it would be nice to see we got quality back in exchange.
6. Penalties, Penalties, Penalties.  I don’t want to see anymore.  I’m not fan, nor should you be, of giving free yards to the opponents.  Lets calm down and get some discipline folks.

Thats about it.  Enjoy the game.  I’ll try to get up a recap of the game shortly after it finishes, and then I’ll try to get up some more player profiles this weekend.  I meant to have them up by today, but in what could be the worst instance of bad luck ever, both my father, my mother-in-law, and my sister-in-law are all having brain surgery this week.  No joke.  All three of them have aneurysms that need clipping or coiling…so needless to say, I’ll be blogging from my laptop somewhere near a couple different Hospitals for the next week.   I have to admit, I am amazed that doctors do what they do…apparently this kind of brain surgery is a 2 day at most stay in the Hospital.  That just seems odd to me, but trust the guys who do this 24/7/365 I say.

Dolphins Drop to Falcons, undefeated no more. Should we care?

I apologize for getting this up a little late, but I wanted to make sure I re-watched the game, and not have any knee jerk reactions.

Yes, we Lost.

Yes, we looked bad in places.

Yes, a rookie WR on a reverse was our leading rusher.

Yes, Chad Pennington was our 2nd leading rusher.

No, the end is not near.

News Flash!

It’s still preseason folks.  These games still don’t mean anything.  Lets settle down, and stop with all the Jekyll & Hyde fandamonium uprising.  I think fans get so caught up in the fact that Henne, Marshall, and Ronnie are on their big screen TV’s actually playing football that they forget that these first 4 games mean absolutely nothing.  The players know it, the coaches know it, the fan’s somehow…..didn’t get the message.

I don’t know if you are aware of this, but the Colts lost 59-24 in their third preseason game on Thursday, and they lost 34-21 TO THE BILLS in week 2.  In week one the Colts lost 37-17 to the Niners…. As a matter of fact, the Colts have only won 6 TOTAL preseason games since 2004.   That is a preseason record of 6-27.  Yes, every single one of those years, they won over 12 games in the regular season.  What does it mean?

It means step off the ledge, take some anxiety medication, and relax a little.  Last week everyone was raving about how well the Dolphins played, this week the sky is falling (again).  Get control of your bipolar fandom…. it’s going to be okay.

First Downs

Welcome back Brian Hartline, we’ve missed you.  Hartline managed to finally come up with a few catches, totaling 3 catches for 32 yards, and he flashed his Yards after catch potential yet again.  This kid is going to shine when the REAL lights come on in Week 1.

Vontae Davis must have been tired of hearing me talk about how often he gets burned, as he played lights out last night.  Davis had 7 tackles, a forced fumble and maintained great coverage throughout the game.  He really didn’t falter, and it was nice to see he didn’t give up a big play.

Misi played pretty well last night as well.  He had great sideline to sideline agility, he flashed at times, but he also didn’t set the edge as well as you’d like.  He’s a rookie, so that ill develop.

Brandon Marshall once again came up big.  He had 2 completions from Henne for over 20+ yards in the closing minute of the first half, and of course he added a drop or 2 in there.  Don’t get me wrong, Marshall isn’t Ginn, and he isn’t even Terrell Owens….but he’s going to have some drops so get used to it.

Let me take a moment once again to reiterate just how lucky we are to have Chad Pennington on the roster as a back up.  Chad is efficient, and controls the flow of the game so well every single time he steps on the field.  There is no quarterback controversy, and Pennington should and will remain the back up, but just knowing he’s there in case of emergency is something that can’t be forgotten.  I bet teams like Arizona and Buffalo would love to have Pennington as their starter…. and we have him as a back up.  Think about it.

Dan Carpenter, 2 for 2, long of 53 yards and it would’ve been good from Cuba.  He’s money.

Fumbles

Can I just put the entire offensive line here?  They played well in the passing game, but I’m not sure they could have created a running lane against the Ravenscroft Beauty School for Girls.  There has been a whole lot of adjustments to the offensive line this offseason, and whether it’s a case of them just not “gelling” yet, or what….I’m not sure.  Jake Grove practiced with the one’s all week-long, and come game time, I have to say they took a step backward.  This whole Berger/Grove thing has to get figured out, and get figured out soon.

Ronnie Brown – 8 rushes for 9 yards
Ricky Williams – 4 rushes for 5 yards
Lousaka Polite – 1 rush for 0 yards (have you ever seen the Monster NOT convert a 3rd & 1 or 4th & 1?)

The running game that was ranked fourth in the league last year has absolutely GOT to step up.  The running game feeds our offense, when its working, everything is working.

If anyone sees Sean Smith this week, will you please pass the following note to him:

Hi Sean, in the NFL wide receivers have double and even triple moves.  That means you don’t have to go all in on their first move.  I  understand this is only your second year in the league, and you and Vontae are both still developing… but please, for the love of God, stop biting on the first move.  Thank you.

This piece of equipment to the left is a Football Jugs machine.

Please place all of our wide receivers in front of it for a very long time over the next couple weeks…..
Drops by Brian Hartline, Davone Bess, Brandon Marshall, Anthony Fasano in total 5 or more drops in the game against Atlanta…  That has to stop.

Needing Further Review

I’m putting the Team as a whole here, the offense isn’t running with any type of game plan, and Mike Nolan hasn’t shown us anything at all of his exotic defense during the preseason.  He’s keeping his cards close to his chest, and I for one am very happy for it.  I started this article off by saying that we need to relax when it comes to these preseason games, and I meant it.

Preseason games are great because it means real football is being played once again, but there isn’t a whole lot of your real team that you are going to see out there.  It’s easy to cheer when a big play is made, and talk up the player… but you also have to keep in mind that the teams you are facing aren’t playing their normal defense either.  Its kinda like watching teams play with one hand tied behind their back…. take the bad and the good with a grain of salt.  Just enjoy watching the games.

Other notes from the game:

• Nolan Carroll had a couple of nice returns once again, but he also got torched on a couple of passing plays.  He’s a rookie and that’s to be expected
• Marlon Moore, welcome to the team.  He ran with the one’s on a few plays.  He’ll benefit most from Camarillo being gone it seems.
• Jake Grove gets banged up again.  The team was struggling today with him at Center… maybe Berger solidifies the position?  They better figure it out soon though.
• Chad Henne forced that throw that resulted in a pick in the end zone.  Gotta learn to look off especially when the Beast has one-on-one coverage on the outside… Despite the fact he forced it, it was tipped at the line, before being intercepted.
• Joey Haynos gets carted off the field with a foot injury…. I’ve seen some people say it could be an Achilles tear.  David Martin’s chances of remaining on the team get better and better….
• Chad Henne is going to have his ups and his downs.  He’s still developing.  People are too quick to forget that this is his first full season as the starter.  Let him make his mistakes in preseason, and learn from them.  He’ll be inconsistent at times this year, just hope it’s not too often.